紐約長島Swan lake golf club！~下集

紐約長島Swan lake golf club！~上集
https://www.peargolf.com/article/niuyuechangdaoswan-lake-golf-club%EF%BC...

下集開始。

鐵桿以一個業餘球友的穩定度來說，我是差強人意，但今天的果嶺狹長的炮台設計就是要搞死人。除非你是職業選手的準度，不然你也會打到崩潰邊緣。不過我今天的推桿超穩，有六個洞都是一推進洞，這六個洞都是長推超過10步的距離。怎麼的今天推桿威武？因為果嶺的狀況非常得讚，速度約在九到10左右，推起來平順，不亂跳，你只要看對坡度、草紋，球就照你的路徑滾去。從開場開始，推桿就神靈護體，完全放開推。

重點是我在開打前，在練習果嶺上做了推桿的Routine練習，這是非常有用。我另一篇文章有詳細說明，讓我對於這個球場的果嶺速度和狀況，抓的比較清楚，同時可以對不同的距離去掌握推擊的力道。當然今天推起來，簡直就是開掛，小宇宙一路燃燒。如果沒有推桿的加持，我今天的成績會很難看。守在80中的位置！

因為我的第二桿的上果嶺率/GIR差不多30%，所以大多都是三桿才上果嶺。基本上都是PAR或+1的狀況結束。有3洞打+2。對這個球場來說，有這樣的成績我已經很滿意了。前九洞和後九洞難度都差不多，球道窄，果嶺小，典型老球場考驗技術和準度風格。同組的球友都問我，我平時的推桿都這麼好嗎，我說今天比較不一樣，算是父親節的推桿無敵開掛。

同組球友都是年輕人，都在30幾歲左右，身材高大魁梧。中間有稍微聊一下，才知道其中兩位是在Army，所以身材是練家子。他們的距離都是超猛，有一個打得很穩，又有距離，還好我打自己的節奏沒有被影響到。不然一般球友沒有經驗，自己一個人和別人併組打，很容易會被其他人所影響。雖然他們的距離都不錯，但是準度就沒有我穩。我的木桿都可以把球放在球道或球道邊，他們的球基本上就像煙火一樣亂噴，所以我的球不需要找，他們常常在找球。

球場的風格比較適合中差點球友，對於新手100桿以上的就不要誤入這個球場。花很多時間找球不說，很多球會落在長草裡，除非球有自帶GPS，不然就是貢獻給球場。我就常常幫他們找球，還找到幾顆不錯的球。在美國打球，只要找個5～10分鐘沒有找到球，就自動補球。這個球場以週末假日來說，打的人不算多，我們打完18洞是四個小時，又5分鐘。我們的前面是沒有人，所以我們打起來節奏也算快。

以這樣的時間來說在週末和假日已經算是非常好的，球場維護和管理都看到細節，這也會放在我的口袋名單。當然如果我以後體力不好再來打，因為它週末必須要配球車。我個人比較喜歡自己推車打！自己推車和開球場打下來時間都一樣，開球車是輕鬆而已。打完就中午結束塞車回紐約市，算是一個很好的高爾夫球日，享受完美的天氣，和挑戰的球場，3位喜歡打高爾夫的球友一起享受美好的早晨。這就是我喜歡在紐約夏天打球，不會有那種極熱的溫度，同時還可以享受舒服的擊球。

本文Youtube Video 中文影片
https://youtu.be/JODepljQESs

For an amateur, my iron consistency today was just okay, but these narrow, elevated greens are designed to break you. Unless you've got tour-level precision, you'll be pushed right to the edge of frustration. That said, my putting was rock solid today — six holes where I one-putted, and all six were long putts over 10 paces. Why was my putting so strong today? Because the greens themselves were in fantastic condition — rolling at about a 9 to 10 on the stimpmeter, smooth, no bumps. As long as you read the slope and grain correctly, the ball just rolls right along your line. From the very first hole, putting felt like I had some kind of divine assistance — totally in the zone.

The key thing is, before I started, I did a putting routine on the practice green — I've got another article that goes into detail on this — and it really helped. It let me get a clear read on this course's green speed and conditions, and also helped me dial in the right touch for different distances. Today putting genuinely felt like cheat mode, just burning through holes one after another. Without that putting boost, my score today would've looked a lot uglier. Ended up right around mid 80!

My greens-in-regulation rate was only about 30% today, so most of the time I needed three shots to reach the green. Mostly finished holes at par or bogey, with three holes at double bogey. For this course, I'm genuinely happy with that result. Front nine and back nine were similarly tough — narrow fairways, small greens, classic old-school course style that tests skill and precision. My playing partners kept asking if my putting's always this good, and I told them — nope, today was just my Father's Day putting cheat code activated.

My playing partners were all young guys, around their 30s, big and athletic builds. Chatted a bit and found out two of them are in the Army, which explains the physiques. Their distance off the tee was insane — one guy in particular hit it long and straight, but thankfully I just stuck to my own rhythm and didn't let it throw me off. If you're not an experienced player, getting paired up with strangers like that can really mess with your game. Even though their distance was impressive, their accuracy wasn't as consistent as mine. My drives stayed on or near the fairway pretty much every time, while their shots were flying around like fireworks — so I never had to search for my ball, but they were constantly looking for theirs.

This course really suits mid-handicap players. If you're a beginner shooting over 100, I'd say steer clear — you'll spend way too much time hunting for balls, and a lot of them end up buried in the rough. Unless your ball comes with built-in GPS, you're basically donating it to the course. I ended up helping them search a bunch, and actually found a few decent balls along the way. In the US, if you spend 5 to 10 minutes looking and can't find your ball, you just drop a new one automatically. As for pace, the course wasn't too crowded for a weekend holiday — we finished 18 holes in four hours and five minutes, with no one ahead of us, so we kept a pretty good pace throughout.

That kind of pace is genuinely excellent for a weekend or holiday round. You can tell the course maintenance and management really pay attention to detail — definitely going on my shortlist. Though if my stamina isn't great down the road, the mandatory cart on weekends might actually be a plus — personally, though, I prefer pushing my own cart. Walking and riding take about the same amount of time anyway; riding's just less tiring.

After finishing, headed back into a traffic jam toward NYC around noon — but overall, a great day of golf: perfect weather, a challenging course, and good company with three fellow golf lovers enjoying a beautiful morning together. This is exactly why I love playing golf in New York summers — no extreme heat, just comfortable conditions for a great round.

Youtube Video
https://youtu.be/j3ODBpHiAVE